Football: Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns expected to add two assistant football coaches

Tim Buckley, The Advertiser, Feb. 11, 2021

Ragin’ Cajuns football coach Billy Napier has added an assistant to his coaching staff and is zeroing in on another, a person with direct knowledge of the hires told The Daily Advertiser on Wednesday.

The Cajuns have hired North Texas linebackers coach Galen Scott and are "finalizing a deal" with Florida Atlantic offensive line coach Jeff Norrid, the source said.  

Scott has been working for UL since before National Signing Day, the source said, adding that it’s unclear what position he will coach on defense. Norrid will coach the offensive line for UL. 

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The Cajuns have lost inside linebackers coach Austin Armstrong, who left UL after one season to become defensive coordinator at Southern Miss. They also are losing assistant LaMar Morgan, a former Cajuns safety, who is expected to become cornerbacks at Vanderbilt, Yahoo Sports reported.

“It’s been a TRUE blessing to be able to coach at Louisiana these last two years,” Morgan wrote on Twitter said in a Tweet posted Wednesday.

Scott was North Texas’ linebackers coach the past two seasons, and the co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Virginia Tech from 2016-17. He has been a linebackers coach and defensive coordinator at Memphis, outside linebackers and secondary coach at Tulsa and defensive coordinator at Illinois State, his alma mater.

Norrid would replace Rob Sale, who is leaving after three seasons to become offensive line coach of the New York Giants. Sale also was UL’s offensive coordinator, but Napier was the Cajuns’ play-caller.

Norrid was a quality control assistant at Alabama from 2009-14, where he worked with Napier, the Crimson Tide’s receivers coach during that span. He also has been an offensive analyst at Auburn and graduate assistant at Arkansas, his alma matter. Norrid went to FAU as an offensive analyst in 2018, and was promoted to offensive line coach in 2019.

Scott’s hire and the expected addition of Norrid comes after the Cajuns added Wes Neighbors to the defensive staff. Like Scott, Neighbors’ role has yet to be defined. 

Neighbors was safeties coach at South Florida last season and Florida Atlantic the prior two seasons. A former Alabama safety and special teams player from 2008-11, he also spent time with the Crimson Tide as a defensive graduate assistant.

Napier still has one assistant job to fill on his staff, following those hires. One of the openings was created with the death last August of offensive line assistant coach D.J. Looney. His position was not filled during the season.

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